An increasing number of services use location-based information to determine content provided to mobile communication devices. For example, using location-based information, a service provider or other entity may indicate points of interest within close proximity to (i.e., within a particular distance of) the mobile communication device. In this manner, a user of the mobile communication device may determine nearby points of interest such as restaurants, shopping centers, or other points of interest.
Some conventional systems use location-based information to identify promotional messages to be delivered to mobile communication devices. However, these systems typically are one-dimensional in that location without interest-based information is used to identify the promotional messages. Thus, conventional location-based systems fail to incorporate interest-based information when identifying promotional messages that are communicated to the mobile communication device. In this manner, a promotional message may impose a feeling of “spam” to the user. For example, a vegetarian may not be interested in a promotional message such as an advertisement for a steak-house merely because the vegetarian is nearby the steak-house.
Conventional systems also fail to analyze and/or provide metrics on the effects of distance on a promotional campaign. The distance between a mobile communication device and a physical location of an entity such as a brick-and-mortar store of a retailer may affect success rates of a promotional campaign. For example, a promotional message communicated to a mobile communication device may be more effective when the mobile communication device is closer to a physical location than when the device is farther from the physical location. Likewise, different types of promotional messages may be more effective than other types of promotional messages when the mobile communication device is closer to a physical location than when the device is farther from the physical location.
Conventional systems fail to provide these and other metrics that allow discovery of effects of distance on promotional messages. Thus, advertisers and other entities may be unable to determine effectiveness of various promotional campaigns based on a combination of user interests and distance from a physical location.
What is needed is a method that takes both location of a mobile communication device and interests of a user into account to provide location-based promotional messages. What is further needed is a method that provides metrics on the effects of distance on promotional messages so that promotional content may be identified based on a combination of user interests and distance from physical locations of an entity. These and other problems exist.